Are 5.1 inch Android phones dead (need one for ~$350)?

Raswan

Senior member
Jan 29, 2010
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My wife needs an upgrade from an ancient Galaxy S6, and has very small hands in addition to a dislike for larger screens. By comparison, she finds my Pixel XL (5.5 inches) unwieldy. Should she just suck it up and get used to the new status quo of ~5.6-5.8 inch base model screens? Or are there decent options out there I'm not seeing? If 5.1 inch phones are dead, it seems like the Pixel 3a is the best option at $350 right now.

Feel free to suggest. Thanks!
 

ericlp

Diamond Member
Dec 24, 2000
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what carrier are you on? You can get an pixel 3 (regular size) for 400 after 200 rebate with visible. The pixel 3a doesn't do wireless charging. If that not a deal breaker, you can get the 3a for 200 bucks after rebate.

I think you can still find apple phones in the 5" display. I think S6 is now officially not supported anymore.
 

Ravynmagi

Diamond Member
Jun 16, 2007
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One thing to keep in mind is screen to body ratios have improved significantly in the last few years. The Pixel 3 with a 5.5 inch screen and Galaxy S10E with 5.8 inch screen are both about the same size as the Galaxy S6.

Both of those phones are outside the budget though. Maybe look at something like a Samsung Galaxy A40, 5.9 in screen in a 5.7” x 2.7” body. Galaxy S6 is 5.65” x 2.8”, so getting a phone very close to the same size. Goes for about $260 on Amazon. But limited to GSM only (AT&T and T-Mobile).

Better, if you don’t mind refurbished phones, a Pixel 3 on Amazon is only $340.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Commodus

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 2004
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My wife needs an upgrade from an ancient Galaxy S6, and has very small hands in addition to a dislike for larger screens. By comparison, she finds my Pixel XL (5.5 inches) unwieldy. Should she just suck it up and get used to the new status quo of ~5.6-5.8 inch base model screens? Or are there decent options out there I'm not seeing? If 5.1 inch phones are dead, it seems like the Pixel 3a is the best option at $350 right now.

Feel free to suggest. Thanks!

Gonna echo Ravynmagi to some extent -- your Pixel XL is unwieldy for your wife because of its overall size, not its screen size. Look for phones with total dimensions comparable to the S6, like the aforementioned Galaxy S10e or the iPhone 11 Pro.

Is something around $350 your budget, or are you willing to spend more if it fits your needs? The Pixel 3a is a solid phone, it's just that what we've said about screen-to-body ratios expands your options quite a bit.
 
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Roland00Address

Platinum Member
Dec 17, 2008
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So your galaxy S6 is 70.5 mm wide. People care about this for that is the width of your palm of your hand. We rarely care as much about the height of the phone. After width of the phone it is usually width > weight > height and thickness does not matter as long as it is reasonable which all modern phones are.

Here are 11 phones that are 70 mm or less in width and has a top end cpu. [Maybe not the latest 2019 cpu but 2017 or newer top end.] Links to GSM Phone Finder and a search result I already pulled up.


Notice the screen size are everything from 4.6" to 6.1"

Notice the Galaxy S8, S9 and S10e are on that list and are less wide than the S6.
S8, 68.1 mm wide and a 5.8" screen
S8, 68.7 mm wide and a 5.8" screen
S10e 69.9 mm wide and a 5.8" screen

Sony Xperia 5 68mm wide and a 6.1" screen
Google Pixel 4 68.8mm wide and a 5.7" screen

And if your wife wants something that feels significantly more handable for it is 1/2 a cm less wide the Sony Xperia XZ1 and XZ2 are only 65 mm wide. The downside is a 4.6" screen and 5.0" screen respectively and some people want a bigger screen and do not mind a half a cm wider phone. But for both men and women hands, half a cm is a big deal for our hands are only 7 to 8 cm wide as a "palm width" with the average women (and due to bell curves some women have smaller hands than the average male) and with men the average palm width is 8 to 9 cm wide (and due to bell curve some men have smaller hands than the average male.)

On the subject of a half a cm, remember her phone is 70.5 mm wide, well your pixel xl (aka the 1st gen) is 75.7 mm wide. Thus half a cm is the difference between unwieldly vs wieldly, and she may appreciate going down another half a cm to the Sony XPeria XZ1 size (65) , or maybe she is fine with the 68 to 70 range. She just needs to try things out for everyone is different and there is no shame with liking phones you can comfortably hold in your hand instead of feeling like you are stretching your hand so that you do not drop it.
 

pctwo

Senior member
Oct 12, 2003
397
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I don't have a specific suggestion but keep in mind that diagonal screen size doesn't mean much. Phones are taller now, with aspect ratio like 18:9 or even 19.5:9 and use all screen design with minimal bezels, so a supposedly 6.1" phone ends up being no wider than an older 5" phone. Your wife should try one out for feel before deciding she needs a 5" phone.

Sent from my G6 using Tapatalk
 

NTMBK

Lifer
Nov 14, 2011
10,208
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Meh, tall phones just mean you can't reach the top of the display.
 

Roland00Address

Platinum Member
Dec 17, 2008
2,196
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Meh, tall phones just mean you can't reach the top of the display.
Yes.

But some of the newer phones are not actually "taller" for example

Galaxy S6 height is 143.4 mm
Galaxy S8 height is 148.9 mm a full half a cm taller
Galaxy S10e height is 142.2 mm, this is actually less tall than the Galaxy S10e.

But simultaneously even if the S10e is less tall body wise, the "screen itself" is taller, and thus reaching the top of the screen is harder and requires you thumb to reach another 3/4s of an inch, another 18.8 mm if the OS is using the same software and interface design.

The solution to this problem is to redo the software and interface design so you do not need to reach to the top of the screen to do gestures that use the top of the screen, urls, and so on. Taller screens are better if the software and hardware is done right, but if its not done right in some ways taller screens suck for you can't reach the top of the display one handed and many interface elements assume you can reach the top of the display one handed. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯